


Stranded

by suluismyspirit



Series: Worlds Away [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 16:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9769544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suluismyspirit/pseuds/suluismyspirit
Summary: While headed to the main city of Raegis III, the away team's shuttle crashes in the wilderness. With no shuttle, no pilot, and no comms, Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov must find a way back to their ship, and the peace negotiations, before war breaks out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Stop!
> 
> Spoiler Alert: Hikaru Sulu is not, and has never been, stationed on board the Enterprise at the beginning of this fic.
> 
> Carry on.

Chekov woke with a groan, muttering colorful words in Russian of which he was sure most of the crew would be shocked he knew, let alone spoke. “Keptain? Mister Scott?” He blinked his eyes open, looking around the damaged shuttle for the two men. There was a spluttered cough nearby, Chekov turning his head to see Kirk pushing himself into a sitting position.  
  
“Everyone alright?” Kirk asked, head pounding though he ignored that.  
  
“Aye, laddie.” Scotty knelt a foot away, features etched with concern as he watched Kirk and Chekov. “Been tryin’ tae wake ye up for a minute now!”  
  
Chekov relaxed some, breathing easier knowing that Kirk and Scotty were alright. He sat up, looking himself over briefly before answering Kirk. He found nothing felt broken, just a few bruises and some minor scratches. “I am alright Keptain.” He assured him, starting to get up, though he took it slow.  
  
Kirk put a hand on his head, hoping to dull the pounding there. “Good. Where are we?” He stood up as well, leaning against the tilted wall of the shuttle briefly. He frowned, noticing the still bodies of the pilot and copilot. He glanced at Scotty, who gave a slow shake of his head. Damn it.  
  
“Quite a ways from the main city, I think, sir.” Scotty informed him, tone quiet as he watched Kirk move over to the shuttle door.  
  
Kirk slid the door open, having to help the thing along a bit. He frowned as a few inches of water spilled in, a quick glance out the door showing they’d half landed in a slow-moving stream.  
  
Chekov moved to check the shuttle’s systems, a little shaken noticing the dead crew, but he forced himself on. “Zhis planet wasn’t part of zhe Federation, I don’t zhink.” He reported, glancing at Kirk for confirmation.  
  
Kirk leaned against the door frame for a moment, face scrunching up briefly. “No, Mr. Chekov… it’s not. We need to get out of sight as soon as possible. Anyone could come across this place and we don’t want to get caught.”  
  
“Aye, Keptain.” Chekov watched Kirk with concern, worried and unsure if he should offer to help or not. Chekov was fairly new to this posting, he was only 17, and while he was already becoming friends with Kirk, he wasn’t sure if that quite warranted him offering assistance to Kirk. He didn’t want to be rude or imply he though his Captain was incapable.  
  
He shook the question from his mind after a moment, Scotty was watching the Captain and the other man was older and good friends with Kirk. Instead, Chekov turned to gather what supplies he could salvage from the shuttle. After a moment of digging, he ended up with one of the shuttles medkit and a phaser. He climbed out of the shuttle, splashing quickly across the water to dry ground.  
  
Scotty watched Chekov hop out the doors, young pup had tons of energy no matter what the situation, then turned his gaze on Kirk. He moved closer, about to speak up when Kirk interrupted.  
  
“I’m fine, Scotty, not our first priority.”  
  
Scotty frown, huffing a bit, but let it slide. Trust James T. Kirk to be so 100% true to his nature. No wonder McCoy had so many gray hairs. He rolled his eyes as Kirk check his phaser and shouldered his own supply pack.  
  
“Tha’s what ye always say.” He grouched, grabbing the rest of the gear and following Kirk as he climbed out of the craft. Scotty made extra sure to avoid the water, he really was not a fan of it. He did spare a thought to be grateful they didn’t need to swim, though knowing his luck they probably would before mission’s end. “What happened up there?”  
  
Chekov looked up from the scanner he had in his hands as the two joined him on dry land. “Somezhing interfered wizh zhe shuttle’s systems.” He explained, eyes dropping back to the device as it searched for life forms. “But I did not get a clear reading before zhe power failed.” He glanced over at Kirk, almost apologetically. He had no idea if the crash was an accident or an attack. The side of the shuttle not sunk into the muck was undamaged, but that didn’t rule out an attack.  
  
“That’s gonna cause some problems, if we’re tae find a way back tae our ship.” Scotty offered, looking around. As he’d said earlier, they were a good distance from their destination, not exactly something they could walk. And with the shuttle down, and comms not working, they were in some real how water here. So far as the eye could see, it was nothing but forest and wilderness.  
  
The scanner in Chekov’s hand let out a beep, the Russian turning and walking a step toward the other two. “Zhere are some life signs in zhat direction.” He informed them, looking up and gesturing vaguely northward. The scanner wasn’t any more specific than that, it’s function appeared to have been damaged in the crash. “It is probably zhe city.” He guessed, looking to Kirk.  
  
Jim thought about it for a moment, looking in the direction that Chekov had indicated. “It’s our best shot.” He decided, hefting the pack over his shoulder and leading the way.  
  
Scotty walked over to Chekov, holding out his hand for the scanner. “I’ll see if I can make a few modifications tae that scanner o’ yours, give it a bit more range.” He knew Chekov could likely fix it just as easily, but he had a tool kit on him already. Plus, maybe this would distract Jim from the shuttle crash for a bit.  
  
Chekov nodded in agreement, handing the scanner to Scotty as he began walking after Kirk.  
  
It didn’t take too long for Scotty to fix the thing, handing it to Jim. He walked beside the Captain for a while, making sure he was really as okay as he appeared to be. The walk wasn’t too difficult, it was early afternoon and the trees provided plenty of shade.  
  
After a while, Scotty dropped back to walk with Chekov, Kirk a few paces in front of them. Scotty glanced over at Chekov, asking in a quiet voice. “Do ye know anything about this planet?”  
  
Chekov looked over at Scotty, casting a quick glance up to Kirk before answering, voice just as quiet. “Wery little. From vhat I remember, zhe culture here is wery primitive. Technologically, zhey are farily advanced, but socially…” He trailed off, shrugging uncomfortably. From what he’d read in the reports of this place, outside of the larger cities the inhabitants of this world were truly archaic. They fought over territory, respecting only the strong. “Ve should be fine, but I vould not vant to stay here wery long.”  
  
Scotty tilted his head at that explanation, shrugging in agreement. “Based on what they were discussing before we flew down here, I wouldn’t want tae be here long either.” Scotty hadn’t heard too much of the discussion, only a little bit of what the Captain had been called in to negotiate with the ambassadors about.  
  
Chekov nodded. He trusted Kirk, knew the man would do everything in his power to get them all out safely, but just being in this place, all but stranded, made him nervous.


	2. Chapter 2

Hidden in the tree’s, covered in a dark brown and green garb to blend in, two strangers watched the trio as they walked through the forest. They were vaguely humanoid, though their features and movements more accurately resembled birds. “Federation, from the uniforms.” The one spoke, bobbing his head in disgust at the brightly colored shirts.

“They don’t look like no invasion force… Think they’re here to trade? Or for the races?” The other questioned, eyes never leaving the group.

“For the races?” The first scoffed, the noise a sandpaperish sound. “I think not. To trade…” He cocked his head, considering if that was a possibility or not. “What would they have to offer us?”

The second shrugged. “Won’t know til we ask. Rumor has it the river rogues got a nice little thing from some Federations some time back. Might as well bring these to the Chief, yeah?” He wasn’t too concerned about it either way. The Chief would decide what to do with them, if they even agreed to come to the village. He wasn’t going to try and fight them. Not today.

“Agreed.” His companion stated.

They slipped from their hiding place quietly, approaching the group with their weapons in hand, though not raised.

“Federation.” One called out to the group roughly, head held high. He would not let it be said that any of his tribe feared a foreigner. “You’re trespassing. What business do you have here?”

Jim came to a stop as the two tribesmen came into view, keeping a sharp eye on both of them as they approached. “Our ship crashed. We’re making our way towards the capital for an important meeting.”

The speaker raised an eyebrow in surprise at hearing this. “You have landed very far from where you need to be then.” A sly smirk appeared on his face. “But perhaps we can help… for a price, of course.”

Kirk tensed, hackles rising at the man’s expression. He shifted, subtly stepping in front of Chekov, blocking the younger man should the two try anything. “Who are you?” He challenged.

“Call us guards, if you will.” The man chuckled. “Scouts for the nearby town.”

Kirk was not buying it. On previous interactions with this planet, the guards had worn insignias for each town they belonged to, but these two bore nothing of the sort. Behind him, Chekov was tensed and ready for action, one hand near his phaser. Scotty was similarly prepared, standing to Kirk’s other side, watching the two strangers.

“Then we suggest you be on your way, so we can all get to our respective destinations as soon as possible.” Kirk stated, tone and stance letting the two of them know they would have a fight on their hands if they pressed too hard.

“Fine, wander the forest alone.” The man said, knowing this little group was far too tight knit for him to want to try and deal with. “If you feel you’ll be luckier with the other tribes, so be it. I’m sure you would be of no help to us anyway.”

Jim frowned at that, watching the two turn away. Scotty glanced at him, subtly pulling at his arm in unspoken advice not to get into this any further. “We’ll be on our way then.” This was far too sketchy, to say the least, to want to stick around for.

Kirk agreed, though the two strangers just got under his skin. The group left without another word, the two men vanishing into the forest. Jim found it suspicious why they would even approach them, knowing that they were Federation.

They walked in silence for a while, Chekov’s expression growing more worried as the light began to dim. He glanced at Scotty. “Vhere you able to hawe any success in expanding the parameters of the scanner?” He asked quietly, hoping that he had and the captain would have some good news soon.

Scotty squinted a bit, slight frown on his features. “Some- but I can only do so much with a tricorder of that caliber, laddie.” He looked over at Chekov, noting his grim expression and wanting to cheer him up if he could. “Don’t worry, we’re looking out for ye.”

Chekov nodded at that, trying to wipe the worry from his face. He didn’t want to be a burden on the other two. And he knew they would be looking out for him, just as he would do his best to look out for them, it was just this forest. The light was fading with every step they took it seemed.

Chekov was having an increasingly difficult time seeing as night fell, not even noticing when they came across a somewhat secluded, off-path cave. He was too busy trying to keep Kirk in sight, the man sometimes becoming invisible in the shadows, causing Chekov to try and hurry forward.

The Russian stumbled, tripping over something on the ground, pitching forward with a startled cry. Kirk caught his arm before he could fall, Chekov having caught up beside him without realizing it. “Whoa! Watch your step there.”

“Sorry, Sir.” Chekov apologized out of embarrassment, very glad he hadn’t ended up on his face. “Zhank you.”

Kirk gave Chekov a small smile, letting go of the kid’s arm. “No problem.” The apology he found unnecessary, but he could guess why Chekov had done it.

Chekov straightened, looking around at where they’d stopped. He could just make out the mouth of the cave with the little moonlight that filtered through the trees above them. This place was creepy, but it was shelter, and he was very much disliking walking through a dark forest.

“Should ve stop here?” He asked hopefully, eyes on Kirk though he could barely see the man’s expression.

Kirk looked around as well. “I think that would be a smart choice. Scotty, you okay over there?”

“Aye, sir.” Scotty called, walking far more slowly and carefully to join them. He had no intention of having any close calls at falling, thank you very much. “Hopefully we’ll be safe til’ morning.”

Chekov was rather doubtful about that, though he kept any comments to himself. “Should ve risk a fire?” He wondered aloud as they all moved toward the cave. None of them went very far inside, they had no idea as to what the animal life on this planet was like and didn’t want to risk intruding on some creature’s home.

“Unfortunately, we might have to wait awhile for that. At least to make sure nobody else has been following us.” Kirk said. It would be dangerous, with those unknown strangers so close, to light a fire. But without one, it would be a very long night, and likely cold.

Nodding, though he was not thrilled with the prospect, Chekov found the most comfortable spot he could near the cave wall, sitting down and curling up on himself. This mission had not gone as expected, feeling more like a haunted wood experience rather than the peace negotiation it had been meant to be.

“I’ll take first watch.” Scotty said, ignoring Jim’s noise of protest. He gave Kirk a look, glancing at Chekov briefly, then turned to stand watch at the mouth of the cave.

Kirk let out a small sigh, shaking his head slightly at Scotty, but appreciating the engineer all the more. He walked over to Chekov, finding a spot right next to him and sitting down. “You okay?” He asked, giving Chekov a sideways look, wanting to offer the kid some bit of comfort. He had to be feeling out of place. They were all used to the bright clean lights of a spaceship, not this dark gloomy forest.

Chekov sat up a little straighter at the question, putting on a small smile, not wanting to let Kirk down. “Yes Keptain…” He trailed off, unable to keep the smile in place as he glanced out at the darkness. “Just… zhe reports of zhis place vhere… not nice.” He admitted. The main city, he’d been eager to see that, but out here… it was like a whole different world.

“Yeah…” Kirk said, tone understanding. This world’s political system and culture needed a lot of work, and the negotiations were supposed to go towards that somewhat. “But I’ll do my best.” He promised, moving a bit closer, letting Chekov lean on him slightly. He’d do everything he could to get Chekov and Scotty back to the Enterprise safely.

Kirk’s reassurance made Chekov feel a bit better, and leaning against him helped against the cold that was starting to creep in now that night was well underway. He closed his eyes, knowing he should get at much rest as he could.

Some hours later, Kirk managed to shift the sleeping Russian onto Scotty without waking him, giving the engineer a short smile as he went to take watch.


	3. Chapter 3

It was well past midnight, the sky full of clouds that occasionally moved across the moon, throwing the forest into a pitch-black darkness. Through the trees, a group of tribesman slipped silently, following the river back to their village. The leader paused, catching a sign of strangers to their territory. He let out a low bird like call to the others, the group gathering and chattering in a strange language.

The five of them deliberated for a few moments, voices low, before coming to a consensus. Silently, they trailed the Starfleet crew to the clearing and cave they’d made a camp. The tribesman fanned out, hiding in the shadows and foliage, awaiting the signal from their leader.

The leader watched for a few moments, waiting for the clouds to move across the moon once more. There was a creaking noise, the snap of a branch, and Kirk stood up, startled by the noise. “Who’s there?”

The tribesman let out a short hiss of annoyance for whichever of his party had put their quarry on alert. Dropping all pretense at stealth, he let out a loud cry, charging forward with his men.

Kirk had only a moment to recognize the rogue insignia on the attackers shirt as something the leaders of this world had mentions, after that they were almost on him. He drew his phaser, firing it automatically, one of the tribesmen going down. The one right behind him lunged over his fallen brother, tackling Kirk to the ground.

The leader of the group looked the three over, eyes going to Scotty and stopping. He chittered something in that odd language to his fellows before moving over to assist his friend with Kirk.

Chekov and Scotty were rudely awakened at the cry the leader had let out in his initial charge, and were scrambling to their feet trying to determine what was happening.

The two remaining attackers were advancing on them steadily.

Chekov drew his phaser, firing at the one focused on him, though the beam missed as the man darted to the side. With a snarl, the tribesman pounced forward, intent on taking the Russian down.

“Get out o’ the way!” Scotty yelled, quickly shoving Chekov out of the way, the tribesman slamming into him and taking them both to the ground.

Chekov fell to the side, rolling out of the way as Scotty and the tribesman went down. The other one nearby moved past, ignoring Chekov as he scrambled to his feet, instead moving over to grab hold of Scotty, helping the other tribesman drag the engineer to his feet.

“Mister Scott!” Chekov called out, alarmed as the two began dragging the protesting man away. He moved forward to help, jumping back as one of them produced a blade and slashed it at him.

Kirk was fairing only slightly better in his fight, kneeing the man on top of him in the groin and flipping him off. He rose to one knee, cursing and picking his phaser up again to fire at the two who had a hold on Scotty.

Scotty was struggling the entire way, fighting to get free. “Get the hell off me, ye scunner!”

The tribesman paid him no attention, just continued dragging. The leader gathered up the one who’d been hit with the initial phaser fire, looking to the third and giving him a signal. A moment later, the man dropped a smoke bomb of sorts, filling the cave and surrounding clearing with a thick grey fog.

Chekov couldn’t see anything, could barely breath. Chocking and coughing on the smoke, he backed up, running into the cave wall after a few steps. Kirk was in no better condition, having to back up as well. He was somewhat disoriented from being so close to the bomb, and the lack of vision and oxygen didn’t help. “Chekov?” He called out, trying to locate the navigator. He could feel a headache coming on already.

Chekov blinked, eyes watering as he tried to see Kirk through the smoke. “K-Kept..” He coughed, unable to speak or breathe properly. He ducked down, trying to get under the smoke long enough to get to fresh air.

Kirk had the same idea a moment later, following the sound of Chekov’s coughing to find him leaning over, gulping fresh air. He gave him a moment to get his breath back, attempting to do the same himself. “Are you alright?” He asked as soon as he could speak again, moving closer to look Chekov over. He was relieved to see the kid looked okay, aside from a few new minor scratches and what would likely be bruises.

“Yes, sir, but Mister Scott…” Chekov said, still breathing a little hard. “Zhey took him…” He looked Kirk over subtly, wanting to assure himself that Jim was okay too. Satisfied that the Captain was fine, he was free to worry over Scotty, which he did to a great extent.

“I know…” Kirk said, clearing his throat and looking around. If there were anything that might tell them where those rogues had taken Scotty, he would find it. “Here. Drag marks in the dirt.” He noticed after a moment, walking over to them with Chekov only a step behind.

Good ole Scotty, not one to go quietly. He’d make sure Kirk and Chekov had a trail to follow. Chekov nodded, eyes worried as he looked in the direction they’d taken Scotty. He had no idea what they might want the engineer for, and he hoped Scotty would be alright.

The two of them began walking, following the trail as best they could. A few times, Kirk was worried they’d lost it. It was incredibly dark, and he knew every moment he spent trying to find it again was another moment those rogues could be doing who knows what to his friend.

It felt like hours later, might have been, when they saw lights in the distance. Kirk held up a hand, signaling Chekov they should slow down. They’d been more concerned with speed over stealth, but they needed to be careful here.

“Looks like an outpost of some kind.” Kirk whispered, looking over the layout of buildings. “We won’t make it in unseen…” Not now that daylight was approaching.

“Ve should probably hawe a plan to get out zhen.” Chekov said, watching the tribesman as some of them ventured out of a building, moving around the grounds. Perhaps they could find a place to hide or lose any pursuers. He knew Kirk wouldn’t leave Scotty there, and he wouldn’t dream of doing so either, so they would need to think of something.

“We’ll go around, scout out the place first and get an idea of what is where.”

Chekov frowned, reaching to tap Kirk’s shoulder and draw his attention to what was going on in the outpost. “Vhat could zhey need zhose for?” He mused, indicating a group of tribesmen carrying a variety of tools.

Kirk’s brow furrowed, watching. It was difficult to tell, but they looked like something that would be used on a ship or craft, which was something these rogue cells wouldn’t have. Why the tribe would have the tools was a complete mystery. It would probably be a good idea for them to try and find out. “If they need to fix something- something bid, or they wouldn’t have gone to all that trouble, that’s not good. We need to find a way in there, fast.”

“At least ve know Mister Scott is probably still alive.” Chekov noted, trying to look on the bright side. Kirk was worried about what the tribe wanted fixed, which caused Chekov to worry as well. If it was big, it was probably bad news.

“He will be until whatever that thing they’re building is finished.” Kirk frowned, mind going back to the debriefing they’d had before the mission. These rogue cells were bad news, but they’d been assured that they were relatively unorganized and had little power.

“Zhey aren’t vasting any time.” Chekov worried, watching as the men with the tools entered a large building, two others going into another and coming out after a moment. The tribesmen came out dragging Scotty and another man, pulling them toward the large building and vanishing inside.

Kirk bit his lip in worry, watching along with Chekov. “I know. We’re going to have to go about this in a less obvious way. These guys know our uniforms, and what they mean.” At least, that the conclusion he’d come to. They’d only taken Scotty, and he was certain that the lead rogue that had attacked them had pointed the Scotsman out specifically. “That means if we get caught, they’re going to do everything in their power to stop us from going to that council meeting.”

“Zhen ve vill hawe to not get caught.” Chekov stated, determined to do just that. “Do you zhink ve should vait until it is dark again?” The outpost was in a fairly clear part of the forest, and there would be little place to hid no matter which direction they approached from.

“Darkness will give us additional cover.” Kirk agreed, though he wished they didn’t have to wait. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Scotty even a second longer. The only comfort he had was that the rogues _needed_ him. Scotty would be able to survive until nightfall. It would be no use going in now, only to be caught again because they hadn’t taken the time to make sure they’d get away.

They’d wait, but they wouldn’t be idle. Tapping Chekov’s shoulder, he nodded his head, indicating the Russian should follow. They had a lot of planning to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Even dragging a cursing and struggling Starfleet officer, the rogue tribesmen moved quickly through the dark forest. They cared little if Scotty managed to stay on his feet over the rough terrain, dragging him up when he stumbled, or just along the dirt until he got his feet under him.

“Now hold on just a minute, laddie, where do ye think yer taking me?” He protested. He didn’t stop putting up a fight, even though it was hard to see given the darkness and what not.

One of the men dragging him snapped out something that sounded quite rude, though it wasn’t any language that Scotty understood. Otherwise, he was ignored as they walked. Scotty soon saw lights, a little base of some sort coming into view soon after.

Scotty did his best to look around, try and orient himself on where he was, but nothing looked familiar. They didn’t exactly stop and give him the grand tour either, heading straight across the compound and into a large building.   
They marched him inside, leading him to what looked like a large scrap of metal at first. The two men shoved him forward, scowling at him with crossed arms when he turned around to look at them. He raised an eyebrow at them, but they just stared. “Aye, I get it, stay here.” He grumbled, crossing his arms.

It seemed like an eternity of waiting before the door opened again, a man walking through that could only be the leader or chief or whatever the blazes they called him. Scotty frowned, eyes drifted to the little waif of a man the chief was dragging along beside him.

He was human, which was odd considering this entire planet was populated with these bird-like humanoid creatures. Asian too it looked, though that was kind of difficult to tell what with the dirt and grime covering the man, and no lack of injuries either. Whoever he was, he certainly wasn’t treated favorably by these people here.

He dragged his attention away from the man as the Chief approached, looking him over instead. The Chief stopped a few feet away, giving Scotty the once over as well. “Ehn oe. Eiyt ssyete ttyx.” The Chief spoke, holding the Asian by the collar and dragging him forward slightly.

Hikaru Sulu had known the moment the Chief had come and taken him from the guards that today was not going to be a good day. It never was when the Chief was involved. He’d much prefer the rough beating he’d been about to get from the guards. Instead he looked at the man in front of him, glancing over his uniform in recognition. “He wants you to fix it.” He translated, tone quiet and tired. It was a line he’d given more than once since he’d been here.

Scotty frowned, arms crossing once more. “I’m only obligated tae follow orders from my captain.” He tossed another glance at the hunk of metal nearby curiously, taking a bit more time to decipher what it was. A ship, from the looks of it, and one with weapon capabilities no doubt. Otherwise why would they want it.

The Chief hissed angrily, speaking a few more words and shaking Sulu harshly, causing the man to wince in pain. “He says fix it or die.” Sulu translated obediently, glancing up at Scotty to add his own piece of advice. “It won’t be quick, and he’ll just keep telling you to fix it.”   
Sulu’d been expecting the man to refuse, they always refused at first. After this though, it was just going to devolve into a lot of pain on both their parts, and he was _not_ looking forward to that.

Scotty was quiet for a moment, considering his options. Perhaps… he unfolded his arms, looking at the Chief. “If ye got the right tools, I may be able to- but it’d take a while. This thing’s pretty banged up.” He shook his head, muttering something about the importance of help in Engineering. He glanced at Sulu again briefly, curious as to what this man was doing here.

His attention was drawn back to the Chief as the man let out a pleased grunt, turning to the two guards and speaking with them, though it appeared he was more giving orders than anything else. He shoved Sulu toward one of the guards, the man grabbing Sulu’s arm and twisting it behind his back, marching him toward the door.

Scotty frowned at that, though his attention was quickly caught by the other guard stalking forward and taking hold of him, leading the way outside and towards a different building. He was walked through the door in time to see Sulu shoved into a cell. Scotty was shoved in soon after, the guards shutting and locking them in before leaving.

Sulu watched the guards leave, rubbing his sore shoulder absently. Once they were gone, he looked over at Scotty warily, keeping his distance from the man. “They’re gonna go get your tools.”

Scotty nodded slowly, looking around nervously at the cell they were in. It was pretty barbaric, just like Chekov had said. He turned his attention to his cellmate, watching him curiously. “So, how’d ye end up here?”

Sulu raised an eyebrow at the question. “Long story. You?” He answered, being deliberately cryptic. He didn’t like sharing his life story. Considering who this guy was, where he came from, Sulu was especially reserved about sharing.

Scotty shrugged, twiddling his thumbs as he thought. “You could say the same.” He answered, choosing to be just as cryptic if that was how this man wanted it to be.

Not having been very interested in the first place, the guy was here that was all that mattered right now, Sulu leaned against the wall, sliding slowly down until he was sitting on the dirty floor. He kept quiet, watching Scotty. It had been a while since he’d seen that uniform, brought back a lot of memories. Which sucked, because he’d spent a great deal of time and effort into trying to forget. “Had a friend in Starfleet once.” He spoke up, surprising himself. “At my first posting. Long story short, he’s how I got here.”

Scotty’s eyes widened at that, looking up from his hands to stare at Sulu in surprise. “Wait a minute, you were in Starfleet?! But it’s been… a long while since we’ve been sent to this planet. Least tae my knowledge. I’m not as diplomatic as some o’ my… crewmates.”

Sulu scoffed, still surprised at himself for speaking up. He’d seen other Federation officers here before, but he’d never spoken to them beyond translating. “Once, yeah. Wasn’t exactly a cut and dry mission. My ‘friend’ got paid, I got left here.” It wasn’t the whole story, not by a longshot, but he didn’t want to go into that. He supposed it was fine, telling the man this much. It wasn’t like he was going to be around long anyway. None of them ever were.

“I see.” Scotty frowned, looking down at the ground in thought.

Sulu gave him an odd look, not quite sure, but there was something in the man’s tone. Hikaru dismissed it, leaning his head back on the wall and closing his eyes.

After a few moment’s silence, Scotty looked up at Sulu again. “So, what was yer position, if I might ask?”

“Pilot.” Sulu answered almost immediately, tone wistful. This was something easier to talk about, a bittersweet memory, if he only thought about it in the context of the past. Something less easy to do, considering… “Let me guess.” He stated, opening his eyes to look over at Scotty. “You’re an engineer. You really gonna fix that thing out there?” He asked, expression unreadable.

A little bemused at the coincidence, because they were short a couple pilots right now actually, Scotty nodded at Sulu’s guess. “That I am. And I said I’d try my best, but I’ve not yet ascertained its condition, nor the repairs that’d need tae be done.” He thought back to the broken ship, frowning. Whatever they needed it for, it wasn’t likely to be good.

“Yeah, well, guess I should just be grateful you didn’t outright refuse again.” Sulu commented, leaning his head back against the wall. “That wouldn’t have been fun for either of us.” He sighed a little, closing his eyes once more.

Scotty sighed as well, leaning against the wall. “Don’t let that mistake me for being in agreement with their plans, now.” He warned.

Sulu just huffed a little at that. They sat there in silence for a bit, Sulu glancing to where Scotty was still standing. “They probably won’t be back til morning.” He told him. If the man was smart, he’d get as much rest as he could now. The Chief wouldn’t be giving him much opportunity for that once he’d been made to start working.


	5. Chapter 5

As Sulu had predicted, it was morning before the guards came and took them from the cell. They were far from gently as they drug Scotty and Sulu from their cell, towing them across the compound in the early morning light.   
Sulu didn’t really need to interpret the guards’ orders, the tribesman shoving the two of them towards the damaged ship, the promised pile of tools laid out nearby.

Sulu did his best to help Scotty, though engineering was not something he knew anything about. He’d already been made to fix what he could on this busted ship a long time ago, though it had taken four hellish days for him to convince them he’d done all he could.

Still, if he couldn’t _be_ useful, he could at least pretend. It kept the guards from deciding to relieve their boredom on him, and so long as he didn’t actually get in Scotty’s way, he was fine.

Scotty sighed, looking over at Sulu. This guy… “Pass me that pipe wrench, would ye?” He accepted the tool from the man, noting the way the Asian periodically glanced at the guards. They weren’t paying any attention to the two of them, hadn’t all day beyond snapping at them anytime they paused even the slightest bit in their work. Scotty was beginning to doubt that this guy generally got this much peace from them, going by the looks he was throwing that way.

“This thing as busted as it looks?”

Scotty didn’t turn from what he was working on as he answered. “Aye. There’s a coolant leak near the engine, back here. ‘s even worse than our shuttle when it crashed.” He stepped back, surveying his work. It looked like someone had definitely fired upon this ship before.

He paused, daring to stop for a while since he knew the guards were preoccupied with something else for now. He turned to look at Sulu, asking him a question that had been bugging him for a while. “Exactly how long have ye been trapped in here?”

“Year or two, I guess.” Sulu frowned, turning to look at the ship, not wanting to meet Scotty’s eyes. “It’s kinda hard to keep track of time here. They don’t exactly let me near a calendar or anything.”

Scotty turned back to the ship, fiddling with it again. “Must’ve been a bad place yer mates were in.” He commented. Though honestly, he thought they were probably just rubbish. He cursed, dropping the tool in his hand as some sparks flew. “Ach! What in the blazes have they done with this thing?!”

Sulu took a step back, avoiding the sparks easily. “Shot it down, dragged it here.” He sassed, earning a short glare from Scotty for answering that rhetorical question.

“Blasted by phaser, no doubt.” He snorted. He paused for a moment, thinking, then turned to glance at Sulu again. “Look, if we ever get outta here… would ye want to maybe join a crew again?”

Sulu lifted an eyebrow at that, surprise more than anything else causing him to answer honestly. “Would depend on the crew, to be honest.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to trust his life to that again, especially if this guy was talking about his own crew, which would be Starfleet. The one’s who’d got him into this mess in the first place. “Doubtful we’ll ever get outta here. Unless you know something I don’t?”

“Yeah? Well, until then…” Scotty had expected that answer from him, well, mostly. He’d somewhat expected a ‘no’, so this was a better scenario. He ignored Sulu’s question, not wanting to talk about it in case they were overheard. “You’ll tell me your name when you want to.”

Sulu frowned at that last remark. He had his own reasons for not giving this guy his name, or asking one in return. Sulu stepped back some, glancing over as he heard the door to the building open, a couple more guards walking through. He dropped his gaze as they approached, going quiet.

Scotty did his best not to look nervous, but it was somewhat difficult considering what it was he was doing to this ship, and the formidable guards that were walking over to them. One of the guards, the ringleader it looked like, stepped forward, barking out a question to Scotty and waving a hand at the ship.

Scotty didn’t wait for Sulu to translate, the question didn’t need translating anyway, and Scotty could tell the other man wanted nothing more than to go unnoticed by these tribesmen. So, rolling his eyes, he answered. “Ship as substantial as this, repairs are gonna take more than a day!”

Honestly, even these people should know that. It was obvious, even to someone who had no idea how to build or repair a ship. They knew what they’d done to the think. It wasn’t like it just needed a fresh coat a paint.

The guard growled out something, unamused by Scotty’s sassy response. He stepped forward, shoving the man roughly. Scotty stumbled back, hitting the ship behind him and catching himself before he fell. He glared, giving the guard a look that just screamed ‘get away from me’, though he didn’t say anything.

The guard scowled again, spitting out an insult and walking away.

Sulu watched the guards warily, turning to Scotty once they’d gone back to speaking amongst themselves. “You could at least try not to antagonize them, you know.” He whispered.

Scotty straightened, slight frown on his face as he tugged at his shirt. “They’d just beat ye even more, and I don’t think ye need any more o’ that laddie.”

Sulu blink, surprised at Scotty’s consideration. The man didn’t even know his name. “…right…” He muttered, at a loss as to what to think about this. He hadn’t expected the guy to care, much less notice.

The tribe had brought people in to try and fix this thing before, even a Federation once or twice. But this guy… He was the first one to actually try and protect Sulu. It was… an odd feeling. And a vast change from simply being stared down at as a guard beat him, then thrown in a cell with the other prisoner who would barely look at him.   
This guy though… He actually looked at Sulu like he was a person.

The guards didn’t talk for long before they were coming back over, grabbing the both of them. “-don’t need tae hide it from me.” Scotty told him as they were dragged along outside. It was near dusk, surprising Sulu because he had honestly expected to be forced to work well into the night.

The guards didn’t say anything as they took them back to their cells, simply throwing them in unceremoniously, locking the door, and then leaving.

Sulu watched the engineer for a while, thoughts churning. As a general rule, he didn’t let himself get close to the other prisoners that the tribe dragged in. They generally didn’t live that long, and it was painful getting attached to someone who was just going to die within a few days. It was worse if the Chief found out that there was any sort of attachment between whoever they’d captured and Sulu.

Hikaru had made that mistake the first time they’d brought in someone to fix the ship. It had not ended well. As a result, he didn’t even bother with names any longer, preferring to keep his fellow prisoners nameless, easier to accept their deaths when that inevitably happened. Except here was this man who Sulu, without even knowing his name, was already attached to, already invested in. Just because, for whatever reason, the man cared.

“…my name’s Hikaru Sulu.” He spoke hesitantly, breaking the near hour long silence. “Most people used to just call me Sulu.”

Scotty smiled at that, counting this as a victory that he’d gained some small bit of trust from the man. Sulu. “Montgomery Scott. Most people call me Scotty.” He sat down, closing his eyes, not noticing Sulu still watching him. He was exhausted from the day’s work, and worried about Chekov and Kirk. He hoped nothing had happened to them.


	6. Chapter 6

Kirk and Chekov had not been idle throughout the day. It had taken some time, and a lot of waiting, but they’d managed to procure two of the rogue tribe’s uniforms. Chekov’s was extremely loose fitting, but Kirk hoped that it would be unnoticeable in the dark.  
He tugged at his own dark cloak with an air of distaste. They both wore masks and hoods, and it was very uncomfortable, though necessary. “Come on. Let’s go around the back.”

Chekov nodded, shifting his shirt a bit and followed Kirk around to the back side of the compound. They’d decided to start with the large building, Kirk hoping to find out what exactly it was they were dealing with.

Kirk kept watch as Chekov unlocked the door, the two of them slipping inside a moment later. They noticed the ship immediately, it was basically the only thing in the place. “That’s not a good sign.” Kirk commented, brow furrowed as he looked the still-broken ship over.

“Aye.” Chekov agreed, making his way over to it and looking it over briefly. “It appears to hawe been shot down… and some of zhese repairs look like Mister Scott’s vork.” He would be able to recognize the man’s work anywhere, Scotty had a certain way in which he used his tools, and the signs were easy enough to see.

Kirk circled around the vessel, eyeing some of the marks. “Might have been shot down by us…” He mused, thinking it might have come from a previous mission to this planet. The pattern and residue of the damage looked like Federation phaser damage at least.

“It does look like phaser burns, sir.” Chekov confirmed, joining him. He couldn’t be 100% certain without further analysis, but he knew they likely would not get that opportunity. “I doubt zhat ewen Mister Scott could fix zhis ship wizhout extensive replacement parts.” He said, glancing at Kirk uneasily. If the tribesmen figured that out, they wouldn’t be inclined to keep Scotty alive.

“No.” Kirk shook his head. “He wouldn’t be. And they’d get suspicious if he asked. He wouldn’t tell them, and if they need this much help, I doubt they’d know.” He assured Chekov, continuing to look around. He spotted a door half built into the ground, tilting his head in curiosity as he went to investigate.

Chekov took one last look at the broken ship before following Kirk. The captain had no trouble opening the door, leading the way into a dimly lit tunnel. Chekov kept as close to Kirk as he could without getting underfoot, not liking the idea of being underground.

Kirk slowed down a bit, making it easier for Chekov to be close to him without them tripping over each other.

“I hope zhey are not keeping Mister Scott in a place like zhis…” Chekov whispered. It would be miserable, being trapped underground in the dark.

Kirk frowned, not responding. He just wanted to get Scotty and get out of here. Every second they were here was a second they were in danger of being caught.

Chekov fell quiet after that, walking in silence beside Kirk. After a while, they surfaced, coming out a similar door to what they’d entered. There were some guards having a relatively quiet argument over near on side of the building. Jim frowned at them, tugging Chekov away around another corner. It would be best to avoid them.

After a few more turns, and once close call, they finally came across the cells. One of the guards on duty spotted them, standing up and moving towards them. “You’re late.” He growled, unamused. “You were supposed to be back with the cargo half an hour ago.”

Hoping he got the words right, because he’d had to learn this language for the mission but he'd yet to put it to use, he put on his commanding voice, stepping forward to respond. “Shipment’s arrived outside the hangar- the boss will be pleased.”

“Good.” The guard growled out. “If that redshirt can’t get the job done by tomorrow…well. We’ll have to decide.” The guard gave them one last scowl before he left.

Sulu glanced disinterestedly at the change in guard, though he wasn’t too concerned. Neither of the replacements he recognized, by voice or by size, so he didn’t care.

Kirk spotted Scotty in the cell, waiting until he was certain the guard was gone before rushing over to the bars, pulling off his mask. “Scotty! Are you alright?”

Scotty sat up quickly, eyes widening. “Captain?! How did you two make it in here?” His eyes roved over their tribe uniforms, answering the question for them as Chekov moved in to work on the lock.

Sulu stood up slowly, watching them warily. He didn’t move closer, guessing this was Scotty’s crewmates come to save him.

“Who’s your friend.” Kirk asked, talking through the bars still, waiting on Chekov. He looked Sulu over, the man didn’t look like an enemy.

Scotty turned to Sulu. “These are my crewmates.”

“Lucky you.” Sulu responded, able to keep any derision from his tone. Good for Scotty, he was getting out of here. He didn’t dare believe he was invited along.

With a frustrated sigh, some Russian muttering and grumbling at the lock, Chekov finally got it open. Kirk stepped back to let him open the door, keeping his eyes on Scotty and the stranger.

Scotty rolled his eyes at Sulu’s answer, motioning him over to the now open door. “Come with us, laddie. We could really use yer help here, and ye could use a home- well, provided we can re-establish communications with our ship.”

Sulu hesitated at the invitation, eyes shifting to Kirk. He wasn’t so sure about him, or about going with them. Scotty didn’t know who he was offering that to. But Sulu wasn’t about to pass up this chance. He’d lived in this hell hole long enough.

“Anything to get outta here.” He stated, moving forward quickly. He was ready to leave.

Chekov shifted nervously, very glad Scotty was okay, and also very curious about this man that had been in the cell with him. Currently, however, he was more worried of the guards returning.

“Come on, we gotta go.” Kirk said once the two men stepped out of the cell. “We can catch up once we’re clear of this place.” It took a bit of will power not to stare at Scotty’s new friend, curiosity itching at him. There was something about the guy, he just got a feeling.

Scotty pat Kirk and Chekov on the back, letting out a relieved sigh. “You two came just in the nick o’ time! Those guards were getting’ impatient.”

Chekov smiled at Scotty, following along behind Kirk as he led the way, walking back the way they’d come, though without so many wrong turns. “I’m wery glad you are alright.”

“Glad you’re alright too, laddie.” Scotty replied, returning the smile. He’d been worried, though he should have known Jim would take care of the kid. He glanced back at Sulu who was behind them, making sure the man was still there.

Sulu was still there, trailing along quietly, trying to figure these people out. His eyes darted to Kirk as the man dropped back to Chekov and Scotty, motioning for them to be quiet. Sulu didn’t know what the deal with these people was, why they’d just let him come with them.

The group walked in silence, making their way to the outskirts of the camp. Jim paused, a thought occurring to him. He turned to look at Scotty. “We don’t have to worry about that ship, do we?”

“I’m yer best engineer, sir.” Scotty said, wearing an extremely crafty smirk on his face. “Ye can bet I’ve taken care o’ that.” He assured him, clasping him on the back and offering him a cheeky grin.

“Zhat is a relief.” Chekov breathed a little sigh. He was incredibly glad their luck had held so far. He chuckled some, giving Scotty an impressed look. “I vouln’t vant to try and run from a ship after us.”

Scotty glanced at Sulu, laughing a bit at Chekov’s comment. “With any luck, they’ll be the ones running.”

Chekov followed Scotty’s glance, looking at Sulu curiously. He wondered what Scotty meant by that comment, and if it had anything to do with his newfound friend. He was sure this was not the time to inquire though, so he filed the question away for later. For now, Kirk was moving again, leading them further from the base.

They’d been walking for quite a while, Scotty casting ever increasingly concerned looks towards Sulu. The man was trying not to show it, but he was exhausted and having difficulty keeping up.

“If they haven’t noticed us gone by now, they probably won’t til morning.” Sulu stated, slightly out of breath. He wasn’t entirely sure his input would be well received, Kirk had no reason to trust his word after all, but he figured he had little to lose.

The group came to a stop at that, Chekov glancing up at the sky briefly. “Zhat should giwe us a few hours zhen, probably.” He commented, looking to Kirk. They could probably rest safely for a while.

Kirk nodded, ditching his tribe disguise, glad to get rid of the extra layers. He looked around at each them, eyes lingering on Sulu. “Then we need to get as far from here as we can in those few hours. You coming with us?”

Sulu regard Kirk for a moment, thoughts racing. He wanted to go with them. But at the same time, he knew it probably wouldn’t end well. There were things he’d done here he wasn’t proud of. This guy, he was a captain, if Sulu remember the uniform insignia correctly. If he was anything like Sulu’s previous CO, he wouldn’t be very forgiving. Still… he’d take his chances.

“Like I said. Anything to get off this planet, so yeah. If you’ll let me, I’ll come with you.”

Kirk’s gaze shifted to Scotty for a moment, the two seeming to share some silent communication before Jim looked back at Sulu. “Welcome aboard.” He retrieved the medkit he’d packed away, stepping forward and offering it to Sulu. “Got a feeling you’re in need of one.”

Hikaru was reluctant to be any more beholden to this guy, or even get that close to him honestly, but he moved forward to take the medkit anyway. He’d get left behind faster than he could blink if he slowed them down, so he’d take the opportunity given to him to treat his injuries.

“Thanks.” Sulu sat down, ignoring the looks he was getting as best he could, working his way through the worst of his injuries.

Chekov tried not to stare, he really did, but this new guy was very odd. But in an interesting way. He glanced over at Scotty, hoping he might introduce him or something. It was weird not knowing his name. Scotty gave one short little shake of his head. He would wait until Sulu felt comfortable enough to introduce himself. No use breaking what little trust there was by blabbing.

“No problem.” Kirk gave Sulu a small smile. “It’s the least I could do.”

Sulu paused, giving Kirk a confused look. That… made no sense. It was a hell of a lot more than ‘the least he could do.’ He shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. He finished as quickly as he could, packing up what supplies were left and offering the kit back to Kirk. “I’m Sulu, by the way.” He said, not quite meeting anyone’s eyes, nervous as how this whole thing was playing out.

Jim took the medit, placing it back in his pack. “James Kirk.”

Scotty bounced a little, watching the interaction. This seemed to be going well.

Chekov grinned, glad to have a name to put to a face. “Pavel Chekov.” He introduced himself, perhaps a bit more enthusiastically than was warranted. He got an amused look from Scotty and Kirk for it, and grinned sheepishly.

Sulu nodded at each of them in acknowledgement, then looked back at Kirk uncertainly. “Can I ask what the plan is?”

"We're heading towards the capital for a diplomatic meeting, and to find a way to reestablish communications with our ship." Kirk explained with a frown, running a hand through his hair. He paused, thoughts coming to a halt as Sulu tensed at his movement, not quite flinching, but moving away from him slightly.

“They’re not gonna be happy, sir- we’ve missed the meeting by hours, thanks tae the rogue soldiers that separated us. Tensions might be high.” Scotty said, drawing Kirk’s attention away from Sulu.

“Hopefully zhe negotiations won’t hawe broken down…” Chekvo paused, thinking for a moment. “If ve could find a willage zhat vould be villing to help, ve could possibly send a message?” It might be wishful thinking on his part, but it was possible.

“Maybe.” Kirk though, considering. “But we still need to contact them as soon as possible. The others may suspect the leaders had something to do with our disappearances.”

“You might be able to use one of the outposts.” Sulu offered. “Sometimes they’re not all that well guarded, if you’re lucky.” Sulu didn’t think it was so much luck at this point as it was a lack of able bodied guards. The tribes had been squabbling for years, but the fighting had been bad recently. So there weren’t as many guards available. “I think they have communications there.”

“Do you know where the closest one might be?” Kirk asked, turning to Sulu again.

Sulu glanced away uneasily, not at all comfortable being the focus of Kirk’s attention. Especially when he wasn’t so sure about the answer to the man’s question. “I…think there was one east of the base. Downriver. “I don’t know how far, I’ve… never actually been there.” He explained, slightly apologetic.

Scotty waved a hand. “It’s fine, laddie. We were going upriver before we got taken over here, so if we’re to retrace our steps then tha’ may be our best chance.”

“Zhat might be a good way for us to hide our trail?” Chekov though aloud. The river would cover any tracks they might leave, though it might not be the most comfortable journey.

“Good idea, Mr. Chekov.” Kirk grinned at him, nodding. Chekov grinned brightly at the praise, following quickly as Kirk started walking.

“Well, better late than never!” Scotty stated, patting Sulu on the back as he passed him following the other two.

Sulu shook his head slightly, following the group. These people were odd, not bad, just…odd. Scotty had been kidnapped, forced to work on a ship, all three of them were trapped in this never-ending wilderness, and yet all of them seemed so at easy, and even cheerful.

He wished he could have such high spirits.


	7. Chapter 7

They walked for hours.

Sulu had begun worrying that he’d been wrong, which led to him worrying how Kirk would react to that, if he would assume Sulu had led them astray on purpose. The sky was lightening with the morning before they reached the outpost. Sulu was relieved to see the communication tower standing there, two or three small hut like buildings at its base. He was relieved, and exhausted.

“We’ll need to do a little scouting before we try and make a move.” Kirk said, looking over the outpost for a moment. He met Scotty’s eyes for a moment, gaze sliding quickly to where Sulu was recovering and back.

After a moment, Scotty nodded. “Right, me and Chekov will check out the perimeter, then take the south side. Let’s go laddie.” He turned, waving Chekov along after him.

Kirk watched them go for a moment, then turned his attention to Sulu. He watched him find a suitable position in which to watch the outpost, settling down to wait. Kirk made his way over, Sulu’s eyes on him as he made his own spot to observe the outpost.

From what he could see, there weren’t any rogue insignias, that was a good sign. After a moment, Kirk glanced at Sulu. “You look like you’ve got questions, Mr. Sulu.”

Sulu blinked, looking away from the outpost to Kirk. He met his gaze for a moment, wary as to what Kirk was after. “That’s putting it mildly…” He hedged, unsure if that comment was an invitation to ask or not.

Jim looked Sulu over for a bit longer, waiting in case he would say anything else. Sulu was quiet, watching him with a nervous tension. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Kirk assured him. “Ask whatever you want.”

Sulu paused for a moment, considering. “Scotty said something earlier, before you guys showed up… about whether I’d join another crew. I… I’m curious if he was talking about yours.” He tried to word it carefully, not sure if he wanted to explain to him the whole deal of how he used to be part of Starfleet. Of course, Scotty would probably tell him eventually, but… Sulu didn’t want to let anything really damning slip.

“Yes.” Kirk answered easily. “But I wouldn’t force you into it if it wasn’t your choice.”

Sulu raised an eyebrow at that answer. “But you’re okay with that? You don’t even know me.” It didn’t make sense. He’d figured that yeah, it was Kirk’s crew, but he’d honestly expected him to have some reason Sulu wouldn’t be able to be part of it. Regulations, or lack of positions, or anything. But he was just concerned about not forcing Sulu into his crew.

Kirk looked down, hiding a bit of a smile. He kind of liked this Sulu character already. “No, I don’t.” He began, getting straight to the point as he looked back up at Sulu. “But I get the feeling Scotty would be in a far worse condition if not for you.” He didn’t know the details, but he knew Scotty didn’t speak the language, so it stood to reason Sulu had helped with that.

Sulu nodded once at that, because Kirk had a point. It did not go well when you didn’t know the language, but they wanted you to do something for them. He had experience on that one. He frowned, hesitant to cause Kirk any reason to doubt him, but he spoke up anyway. “I just did what they always made me do…” He bit his lip for a second, cutting himself off. He knew he should tell Kirk everything. If he found out later, found out Sulu’d hid it, he wouldn’t be happy. He couldn’t risk it though. Not right now. Not this close to maybe getting out of here.  
“That doesn’t mean you should trust me.” He was pushing his luck, he knew he was. Kirk had promised he wouldn’t hurt him, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t ditch him first chance he got.

Kirk could appreciate Sulu’s concern. Trust was earned. But he couldn’t fault the man for doing what the tribe told him to. He’d experienced something like it before, if you didn’t do what they said, then bad things happened. God only knew what they’d done to

Sulu to get him to cooperate. “So, who are you then?” He asked. If Sulu’s problem was that Kirk didn’t know him, maybe that would help.

Sulu looked away from Kirk, eyes watching the outpost for a moment. The captain meant more than just his name, considering he’d already told him that much. It took him a moment to answer though, unused to being so open with anyone. “Hikaru Sulu, used to be a pilot in Starfleet, ended up here.” He left out all the details of how, and what all had happened after. He still didn’t fully trust this man, and he worried what would happen when Kirk found out the details. “I used to have a hobby in botany, and I can fly any ship you put in front of me, if you give me enough time to learn the layout.” He frowned down at the ground, voice lowering. “That’s bout all there is to me now.”

Kirk didn’t comment on that last part, not believing it was true for a moment. He could see there was more to this Hikaru Sulu than met the eye. He frowned slightly, head tilting slightly as he considered what Sulu had said about ending up on this planet, or more accurately, what he hadn’t said. “What happened to your crew?”

“Flew off to continue their great adventure, I imagine.” Sulu retorted, unable to suppress a somewhat bitter chuckle.

Kirk’s brow furrowed at that. He met Sulu’s eyes for a moment. “Must’ve been a rubbish captain.”

Sulu snorted, looking away. He agreed, but didn’t comment beyond a slight nod. It’d been years, but he still wasn’t comfortable speaking badly of his old captain. The guy’d had an authority complex, and hadn’t been very tolerant to say the least. Honestly, Sulu’d wondered more than once if it had been his own sassy attitude that had landed him here in the first place.

“You got any other questions?” Kirk prompted, tilting his head slightly. He could tell Sulu agreed with him, but wasn’t comfortable discussing the issue right now.

Hikaru hesitated, looking at Kirk with a hopeful, but unsure expression. This entire scenario was almost too good to believe, and he couldn’t help but ask again. “You’d really let me join your crew, no strings attached?”

“Well, we are in need of a new pilot-“ Kirk stated, eyes darkening somewhat at the thought of the officers who’d not made it through the shuttle’s crash. “-and there’s going to be a lot of paperwork from Starfleet, so you’ve already got a few strings to deal with. But I think, what you’re really asking, is whether you’ll be left behind again or not.” Kirk finished. He understood Sulu’s concern.

Sulu glanced away, frowning slightly. “I’d really rather not join up, just to turn around one day and be in this kinda situation again.” He glanced back at Kirk, a little worried his comment might have insulted the captain. “…no offense.”

Kirk gave him an encouraging smile. “None taken. But to answer your question, anyone who’s with me, will never get left behind. I’m not that kind of guy.”

Sulu nodded after a moment. That… that was actually reassuring. He might not fully trust Kirk yet, but hearing him say that at least gave him a lot to think about. He took a breath, trying to steady himself and focus on the task at hand. “So, if we can get into this outpost, you got a ship in orbit? Or is the plan to contact the capital?”

Kirk turned his attention back to the outpost, Sulu couldn’t have been more clear he was done with the personal heart to heart for now. “Both. No doubt they’re already in contact, considering the circumstances. But making contact with our ship is first priority.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chekov and Scotty made quick progress scouting the perimeter of the outpost, searching for a suitable point in which they might be able to sneak inside the communications tower. They found a section that looked promising, huddling down in a hidden area to watch the guards for a while, getting a count of how many there were.

Chekov sat in silence for a while watching the outpost, but he couldn’t keep from glancing at Scotty every once in a while. “Zhey did not hurt you , did zhey?” He asked eventually, unable to hold the question back any longer. Scotty _looked_ unhurt, but the Russian still worried.

Scotty shifted into a more comfortable position, fishing out the scanner and beginning to search for possible communication signals. He glanced at Chekov when the lad asked his question, surprised he’d been able to hold back so long. “I’m fine, laddie. They didna do much.”

Chekov nodded, appeased at Scotty’s answer, though now he’d started asking questions, all of the one’s he’d stored up where just itching to come out. “I vas vorried…” He admitted, pausing. He’d been worried the whole time, but after seeing Sulu, and the condition he was in… He had wanted to make sure Scotty wasn’t hurt. “Zhat Sulu, who is he?” He asked. Chekov though it was strange, finding him on this planet, in that compound, considering the inhabitants of this planet were not human. Sulu had been _very_ out of place.

“Used to be a Starfleet officer, but they had some sort o’ mission at this planet and he got left behind for…” He paused, frowning at the scanner as it picked up some kind of signal. At least he could be sure the tower was functioning. He glanced back at Chekov, finishing his thought. “…let’s just say, longer than any of us would like.” He didn’t want to invade Sulu’s privacy, but it was information that would come to light very quickly anyway.

“Zhey just left him?!” Chekov yelped in shock, unable to imagine _any_ Starfleet captain who would be capable of doing such a thing.

Scotty made slight shushing noise at him, though he completely understood Chekov’s outrage. It was absolute rubbish, tha’ all he had to say about it. “Aye. Jim would have some strong words abou’ tha’, I imagine.”

“I vish ve could find out who did zhat. Zhey should newer be allowed to stay in Starfleet.” Chekov frowned, quieting for a moment at they watched a guard strolling around one of the huts, entering the tower.

Scotty pulled Chekov further into their hiding place as the guard come out of the tower again, another man with him. “There’s likely a record of that.”

“Good.” Chekov said shortly, resolved to look into it if he could. “Zhey should not get away with zhat.”

“Agreed.” Scotty noted, checking the guards were gone and the coast was clear. He let out a little relieved sigh. “We should get back.”

“Ve should be able to get in wizhout too much trouble.” Chekov said, nodding in agreement with Scotty and heading back toward where they’d left Kirk and Sulu.

“Best news I’ve heard all week, if ye ask me.”

They made their way back to the other two, both Scotty and Chekov noting how Sulu looked more relaxed. “Keptain, I zhink ve hawe found a vay in.” Chekov reported, tone cheerful.

“Aye, sir- we should be able to contact the Enterprise without much problem.” The signal he’d detected appeared to have enough strength to reach their ship anyway.

Kirk stood up, nodding at the two of them. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Sulu rose as well, shifting slightly in nervous excitement. He was finally going to get away from here. “Yeah, let’s do it. What’s the plan?”

“Zhere only appear to be two guards. So, ve can get inside without raising any alarms. After zhat…” He shrugged slightly. “Zhere may be more, ve could not tell.”

“We’ll keep a lookout.” Kirk decided, indicating himself and Sulu. “You and Scotty focus on getting communications up.”

Jim didn’t waste any more time, they didn’t have it to waste. The rogue group they’d escaped from doubtless were searching for them, and even with Chekov’s idea using the river to muddy the trail, Kirk wasn’t willing to risk being recaptured.

The group moved to the southern side of the outpost, waiting briefly before hurrying out from under cover. They made it to the base of the tower without raising any alarms, each of them waiting anxiously as Chekov opened the door to the building, leading the way inside.

It didn’t take them long to find the communication machine, though upon seeing it Chekov found himself slightly dubious as if this plan would work. The think looked old. Very old. It was covered in rust, a thick layer of dirt, and was producing an alarming amount of noise. But it was still functioning, and it was all they had to work with.

“Zhis is going to take some vork.” Chekov muttered, moving forward and looking the controls over.

“Aye, I’ve just got tae boost the signal a bit.” Scotty told him, dropping down and messing with the wiring carefully. “Looks as if this hasn’t been used for anything long-range in a while.”

Sulu glanced back at them from where he was keeping watch at the door with Kirk. “Probably it was just used to pass messages between camps.”

Chekov kept an eye on the readout while Scotty worked, glancing up at him as the engineer stood up and moved next to him. “Alright, now try it again?”

Chekov flipped a few switches, entering the frequency and turning it on. He was rewarded with a brief, loud screeching noise that lasted for only a couple seconds. He frowned, flipping a few more switches. “…I zhink zhat did it.”

Scotty cringed at the horrible noise, thankful it was gone quickly. “Now we’ve just got tae send a message through the right frequency.” He commented, speaking mostly to himself as he started pressing buttons.

Sulu glanced at Kirk as the two worked, doubt eating at him. “You’re sure your ship’s still up there, right?” He asked, keeping his voice down.

“As sure as the sun.” Kirk quipped. He glanced at Sulu briefly, answering more seriously. “Tensions are high enough as it is, war might break out if she just disappeared.” He knew Spock wouldn’t just abandon the away team here, but Sulu had no reason to trust Kirk’s assessment of his crew up in orbit. So, Kirk gave him a different reason, something more concrete for him to be assured by.

Sulu held Kirk’s gaze for a moment, then nodded, deciding to take his word for it. It wasn’t like he had any other option anyway.

“Alright, let’s give this a go.” Scotty stated as he finished entering the message. He hoped they were paying attention up there. Beside him, Chekov frowned, trying to get the frequency to cooperate.

“Keep it steady!” Scotty ordered, still somewhat quiet. He wasn’t so much yelling at Chekov as he was venting his own frustration. “Otherwise they’ll have gotten half a message and not the most important parts.”

Chekov huffed, not taking Scotty’s tone to heart, but glaring at the machine. He did not like using such old and outdated machinery. It was slow and did not easily adapt to what they needed. Still, he managed to keep the frequency at the right level. “Zhey should be receiwing the message.”

“Now we’ve just got tae wait for a response.” Scotty said, crossing his arms impatiently.

Chekov hovered over the monitors, waiting. “!! Zhere is a message coming in!” He exclaimed, looking back over to the others briefly before turning back to the screen. He bounced impatiently, waiting for it to load.

“Zhey hawe receiwed our message and are standing by to transport us aboard, Sir.” Chekov grinned.

Kirk nodded at that, relieved at how well this plan had gone. Way better than he’d expected. “Tell them we have four to beam up.”

“Aye, sir.” Chekov said, already turning back to send the reply.

Kirk took a moment to make sure the others still had their comms for the transporter to lock onto, then turned to Sulu. “You’re gonna have to grab my arm for a few seconds.”

Sulu appreciated Kirk’s gesture of letting him make the first move. He’d had more than enough of being grabbed and held while in the rogue camps. He’d known it would be necessary, but this was a nice change. It spoke volumes about what Kirk likely assumed, probably correctly, about his time here on the planet.

“Yeah, okay.” He agreed, reaching over to take hold of Kirk just long enough to be transported. He dropped his arm and stepped back as soon as the transport lights faded.

Kirk lifted an eyebrow seeing Spock waiting for them in the transporter room. This couldn’t be good news.

“Captain, it is fortunate you have returned so quickly, the delegates appear to be close to declaring war on one another.” Spock informed him.

If Kirk hadn’t known better, he’d have said there was a hint of exasperation coloring the Vulcan’s tone. Seemed like his first officer had not had an easy time managing the Ambassadors while he’d been gone. Knowing Bones would likely yell at him for not going straight to sickbay, he walked forward toward the door, Spock falling in step beside him.

“Not quickly enough. The situation down there isn’t good, Mr. Spock- there were delays that caused us to miss the negotiations.”

Spock nodded slightly, having presumed as much himself.

Chekov and Scotty watched Kirk and Spock walk out, the Vulcan bringing the Captain up to speed as the headed to the bridge.

Sulu hadn’t paid much attention to any of them, too busy looking around. It was almost haunting, how familiar it all was. Transporter rooms were fairly similar starship to starship, and it brought back memories standing here now.

Scotty cast a concerned glance at Sulu as the captain left. “If they’re discussing terms with the leaders again, ye should probably follow them tae the bridge.” Sulu would probably be of some use to Kirk, might have some inside information that would be helpful. “Unless you’d want to go to Medbay? I’d be perfectly happy to take ye there…” He offered, not wanting Sulu to feel pressured into doing anything.

Sulu gave Scotty a slightly confused look. “I don’t think I’d be much use talking terms with their leaders.” He commented, doubting they’d take much interest in his opinion. Besides, if he did that, they’d likely have questions he wasn’t too keen on answering. “This medbay got a change of clothes? Cuz I won’t say no to that.” Not to mention a shower would be great. He hadn’t been properly clean in forever, and he’d love to have something to wear that wasn’t grimy and held together by a thread. Food would be nice too, if he could swing it.

Scotty tilted his head, conceding to Sulu’s point. “No, but they’d want proof of the rogue group behind both our respective imprisonments, and the attack on our shuttle. So who better to corroborate than us?” He chuckled a little at Sulu’s request. Shoulda seen that one coming. “It’s got a shower, though I’d probably have tae find ye clothes elsewhere.”

“Maybe you vould consider speaking with zhe delegates afterward?” Chekov offered, wandering over.

Sulu shook his head, though he was smiling a bit. “Yeah, I’ll think about it. But only after.”

Scotty shrugged in easy agreement. “That works too.”


	9. Chapter 9

They ended up not going to sickbay, heading instead to one of the unoccupied living quarters for Sulu to wash up and change clothes. Scotty’d taken it upon himself to find the man a starfleet uniform, going with command gold, as well as bringing him a sandwich. The rogue tribe hadn’t offered either of them anything in the way of food while he’d been there, and Scotty had a feeling that wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence.

His suspicious were all but confirmed as Sulu basically lit up upon seeing the food, eagerly taking the moment Scotty offered it, eating it quickly as if it might be taken from him. He considered going and fetching another for the man, but decided there would be time enough for that later. No need to make him sick.

It wasn’t long after that the door chimed, McCoy walking through a moment later. Scotty raised an eyebrow, impressed the doctor had managed to find them in here.

“There you two are!” McCoy grouched, eyes rolling. “I’ve been looking for you the last ten minutes!” He gave them a look, clearly conveying his disapproval that they’d ignored procedure and hadn’t come straight to sickbay. Not that he could expect anything less, he’d had to chase Jim down to the bridge.

Chekov looked a little guilty, ducking his head slightly. “Sorry Doctor, ve vhere just helping Sulu. Ve planned to go to sickbay right after.” He explained, hoping McCoy wouldn’t be too angry with them.

McCoy strode over to Scotty, taking out his medical tricorder and waving over Scotty for a few moments. “Yeah, Jim said there was somebody new I should check for injuries.” He tossed a glance at Sulu. Injuries. Pfft. He didn’t need to check him to know he had those, it was plain as day just looking at him from here.

Satisfied that Scotty relatively unharmed, the minor cuts and bruises would do better healing on their own at this point, McCoy moved over to Chekov.

“Zhis is Sulu.” Chekov said, patiently standing still as McCoy checked him over. “He helped us on zhe planet.”

Sulu’d kept an eye on McCoy the moment he’d entered the room, only remaining sitting and relatively at ease given how unaffected either of the other two were by the man’s gruff manner. He certainly interpreted ‘bedside manner’ in an odd way. He raised an eyebrow at Chekov’s introduction, somewhat amused at the abridged version he’d given McCoy.

McCoy nodded at that, moving over to Sulu with the tricorder. He paused briefly as the man pulled back slightly, then continued checking him, frowning at the readout. There was a considerable amount of recently healed injuries, and far more older ones. “Rough time on that planet for everyone, it seems. What happened?”

“It’s a bit complicated, Doctor.” Scotty spoke up for Sulu when it became apparent he wasn’t going to answer McCoy. Chekov frowned some, shuffling a bit closer, hoping to offer some sort of comfort to Sulu. McCoy could be gruff, but Chekov knew he meant well. He just wished Sulu knew that too, and weren’t so worried.

“He is not hurt too badly, is he doctor?” He asked, curious and worried, but also wanting Sulu to know as well.

McCoy shook his head, closing the tricorder. “He’ll be fine, kid. Malnourished, definitely, among a myriad of other things, but he’ll be find. You come by the sickbay later and I’ll give ya a salve for the worst of the bruising.” He said, directing that final comment to Sulu.

Hikaru held the doctor’s gaze, nodding in acceptance. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” McCoy stated gruffly, nodding once.

“Good.” Chekov commented, glad that Sulu would be okay. He was quiet for a moment, staring up at the ceiling in thought, unaware that the other three were just as deep in their own thoughts.

“I wonder how zhe negotiations are going.” Chekov mused.

“Still tense, I imagine.” Scotty shrugged.

McCoy shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, probably. But I got better things to do than stand around here and ruminate on how some ambassadors are doing. I’ll expect to see you,” He turned a look at Sulu, “come by sickbay later.” With that he turned and left, leaving the three of them to their own devices.

~~

**On the Bridge**

“Ambassador Hjardon, again, I sincerely apologize for the delay in communications and our unfortunate absence from yesterday’s negotiations conference.” Kirk said, trying to keep his tone patient and diplomatic. He’d been trying to talk to the ambassador and calm the man down for the past hour. He hadn’t even gotten to the other representatives yet. “Some unforeseen complications arose upon arrival on your planet that, though not at fault by either of our parties, have sought to disrupt the signing of any peace treaties between you, the Federation, and your fellow representatives.”

“Excuses!” The Ambassador snapped, shaking his head fiercly. “You _Federation_ have been giving us nothing but excuses since your arrival! You’ve been colluding with one of the others to try and obtain some benefit!!”

Kirk leaned, resting one elbow on the chair. He glanced over at Spock, the Vulcan giving him a look that said ‘see what I’ve had to deal with?’ Initially, Kirk had been ecstatic to be back on his bridge, but after dealing with the Ambassador for the past hour, he almost wished he was back in that forest. Almost.

Kirk lifted an eyebrow at Spock. He knew exactly what Spock meant, even if the Vulcan would never actually express his frustration. “I assure you, there has been no benefit on either side.” Kirk assured the Ambassador, turning his attention back to the view screen. “Unless you would count the destruction of one of your ships that had been in the possession of the rogue outpost a few miles from your city as a benefit. Or those under my command either held against their will or killed in a preemptive attack.”

The Ambassador glowered at this, lip curling. “You expect me to believe this?! These rogue groups are harmless.” He scoffed, waving one hand dismissively. “ They have never had the armaments, much less the skills, training, or intelligence required to take down any of our ships. To suggest they would be able to do so is an insult!”

Kirk held back a sigh. The conversation had been circling back around to this point for the last hour. It looked like it was about to do it again. He turned to Spock. “Call Mr. Scott, Mr. Chekov, and Mr. Sulu and have them report to the bridge.” He turned back to the screen. “Alright, fine. If I can’t persuade you, then I’ll let the rest of my landing party talk first. Maybe one of their account of the events of the past day will convince you.”

~~

Spock found the three fairly easily, though he’d had to comm sickbay and doctor McCoy to find out their exact location. They hadn’t left the quarters they’d taken over, all of them lounging on the sofa. Scotty and Chekov stood up as Spock walking in, Sulu following suit more warily a moment later.

“The captain has asked the three of you to come to the bridge and speak to the Ambassador.” Spock informed them.

Scotty frowned slightly, glancing at Chekov as they followed Spock out. “They must be angry, for the captain tae be askin’ fr us already.”

“I just hope ve can help.” Chekov commented. His eyes drifted over to Sulu, brow furrowing. Sulu was quiet, eyes trained to the floor as they walked and he seemed tense. More than when they’d first met him, if that were even possible.

“If there is anything you know about the rebel group that is responsible for destroying our shuttle, then it is your duty to give that information.” Spock stated, the directive more for Sulu than the other two. They knew their responsibilities.

“Ve vill, sir.” Chekov answered, hoping that Sulu agreed with the sentiment.


	10. Chapter 10

His duty. Sulu would have laughed if he weren’t so afraid. Of course the Vulcan would talk about duty. Never mind the duty that had been owed to him two years ago. No. It was always what could Sulu do to help the Federation.

Sulu let out a quiet breath. He knew that wasn’t how the Federation really worked, at least that’s not how it was supposed to work. But he couldn’t help those thoughts. Being angry, even in his own mind, was better than admitting to himself how afraid he was.

Hikaru knew he wouldn’t be able to hide what had happened, what all he’d done the past two years. He wasn’t looking forward to the consequences of it. He followed the other three onto the bridge, the group arriving just in time to hear another outburst from the Ambassador.

“Where are these crewmen Captain? Haven’t I waited long enough?!”

Sulu glanced over at Kirk, the man wearing a long suffering expression as he sat upright in the captain’s chair.

Kirk looked over at them as they walked onto the bridge. Finally, now they could hopefully get this entire matter straightened out. “Ambassador, if you will hear them out, I’m sure you will find that their experiences cooperate with the event’s I’ve already described to you.”

The Ambassador huffed, nodding once and settling back, though his look of impatience did not waver.

Scotty stepped forward first, though he knew Chekov would gladly have reported his own experience first. “Sir, I’ve personally seen the inside of that rebel camp. More than a few men came in the night and took me tae their base, demanding that I fix their damaged starship and making extremely heavy threats, might I add.”

Chekov nodded in agreement. “Aye, I saw zhe ship as well. Zhe wessel looked as if-“

“Impossible!” The Ambassador snapped, cutting Chekov off. “How would they get a starship? Or even hope to fly it??”

Kirk’s eyes narrowed at that, connecting the dots as Scotty sighed and looked at Sulu.

“Mr. Sulu, I’m gonna need yer help here.”

Reluctantly, Sulu moved forward. “They have a ship, and had a pilot…” He trailed off, glancing over briefly at Kirk. The captain had a dawning sort of look on his face, and Sulu knew he was piecing it together already.

“It’s okay, laddie.” Scotty spoke to Sulu in a quiet voice, mindful of the ever-reddening face of the Ambassador on the screen. “It wasn’t your fault, just keep going. I’ll say something if I can.”

Sulu sighed lightly, closing his eyes for a moment, heart pounding. He was going to get thrown off the ship for this, no doubt. He didn’t have a choice though. Intellectually, he knew they wouldn’t hurt him, but every part of him that had adapted to survive the last two years was screaming at him that they’d get the information out of him, one way or another.

He took in a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed and speaking as evenly as he could. “They got the ship using a variety of phaser rifles to shoot it down. That was roughly one year ago. I taught them how to use the weapons. They had me fix some of the ship systems, teaching them how it worked. They tried to get me to fix the entire thing but…” He trailed off, halfheartedly shrugging as his voice dropped lower. “It was badly damaged.”

He paused, considering how to word this next part. He didn’t think it would go well telling the ambassador that the Federation was responsible for the rebels acquiring the ship and weapons. Trying to will the tension from his shoulders, he continued. “They got the phasers from the same people that left me there two years ago.”

The Ambassador sputtered in outrage for a moment after Sulu fell silent. “This is completely unacceptable!” He snarled, entirely unreasonable at the moment. “That man is the reason the rogues have grown in strength! I demand you hand him over for trial! Immediately!”

Kirk had been able to keep his temper in check throughout all of Sulu’s explanation, though it had been a near thing. There were a few details that the man had left out of this account, and adding them in painted a picture that, frankly, made Jim’s blood boil.

When the Ambassador demanded he hand Sulu over, Kirk nearly lost his tenuous calm, barely managing to hide his own impatience. “That may be, but our entire landing team may as well have been dead without him, and I will _not_ have him sent back to the planet he was held captive in for over and entire year!” He wasn’t going to let this man take Sulu and hold him up as a scapegoat.

“You are harboring a fugitive!! He just admitted that he taught those rogues how to fight, to use weapons they should never have! _He_ put your team in danger in the first place!!”

Kirk abandoned all pretense a patience and calm when he saw Sulu wince at the Ambassadors accusation, stepping back slightly. “You can check every Starfleet record there is. See for yourself that this man was not affiliated with any of my crew until the moment he got us out of trouble and therefore repented his actions and was no danger to me or anyone else who came with me to your planet.”

Kirk would bet that anything Sulu had done in that place had _not_ been of his own choosing. And everything he’d done to help them since getting out of there more than made up for any mistakes he might have made in the time he’d been held captive. Though Kirk wouldn’t fault him for any of it anyway.

Spock stepped forward before the argument could escalate any further. “Ambassador, if it is acceptable, I will collect and send you all the records pertaining to this matter, as well as any Starfleet records on Mister Sulu. If I could suggest, might we reconvene these negotiations after all your questions as to Starfleet’s motives have been answered.”

“Very well.” The Ambassador growled after considering the offer for a moment. “I expect it within the next two hours.” At that the viewscreen shut off, the bridge falling into silence.

It wasn’t ideal, but Spock found this outcome much preferable to all talks breaking down completely. He hoped the time the Ambassador spend waiting for the reports to arrive, and the time it took him to read through them, would assist the man in calming himself before Kirk attempted to bring the other representatives back to begin peace talks once more.

Spock turned to Kirk, lifting one eyebrow. “You will be relieved to know that the other Ambassadors have been far less antagonistic.”

“Which of the others?” Kirk asked, hoping he wouldn’t have another long chat like this one had been.

“All of them.” Spock assured him. He’d had little difficulty pacifying the other delegates. They had been content with his apologies and the promise that negotiations would begin as soon as Kirk was found. They’d only become agitated around Ambassador Hjardon, the man inciting them enough for the talks of peace to turn to those of war.

“I will go collect the necessary files for Ambassador Hjardon. I would suggest you file the necessary forms for Mister Sulu, as it will make it easier when dealing with the negotiations should this matter arise again.” Spock said, concluding that Kirk intended to do everything within his power to protect the man. Filing the appropriate forms would make goal easier for the captain.

“Agreed.” Kirk sighed, running a hand down his face as Spock turned and left. He glanced over at Scotty and Chekov for a moment to see how they were faring after that whole fiasco. Scotty seemed fine, and Chekov looked a bit shocked and disbelieving. Kirk could sympathize, this whole thing had gone crazy.

Knowing those two would be fine, though they’d all need to debrief at some point, Jim stood up and looked over at Sulu. “Mr. Sulu, we can do this in the ready room down the hall.” He said, heading toward the door and motioning Sulu to follow. “Unless you’d rather go somewhere more private. It’s your choice.”

Sulu hesitated for a moment before making himself follow Kirk off the bridge. “Ready room is fine…” He agreed, unable to keep the nervousness from his voice. He focused on walking, trying and failing to keep his thoughts from racing.

It was difficult, forcing himself to follow Kirk to the ready room. He had no idea what Kirk meant by ‘this’. Some kind of retaliation for hiding what he’d done? Informing him he was going to have to go back down to that hell after all? Sulu wasn’t sure how him being given to the Ambassador would require a private meeting, which left the first option.

That would probably be better. He had no idea what the justice system was like on that planet, and he was sure he’d be better off on some Starfleet penal colony. It would suck though, getting out of one form of imprisonment, just to be tossed into another.

Kirk paused as he entered the room, turning and looking Sulu over with concern. The man looked worried, and Kirk didn’t need to ask to know what was going through his mind. “You know, I have to get a transfer document signed from your previous commanding officer…” He said, going for a more subtle reassurance.

Sulu was quiet for a moment, giving Kirk a somewhat blank look, feeling like such a mess. Kirk wasn’t going to… He really had meant all that. What he’d said on the planet, and just now on the bridge. He didn’t even look angry, just concerned. “After all that, you still want me on your crew?”

Kirk tilted his head, over exaggeratingly pretending to consider the question, hoping the humor would cheer Sulu up, or at least calm him. “Well, we’d have to look at your qualifications of course. But given how well you’ve survived your last mission, I’d say you may just have what it takes.” He sobered, dropping the humor. “Or you could uh… well, I don’t have much experience with this, but if you wanted to see your family, I could make some inquiries. Pull a few strings?”

Sulu shook his head, still somewhat disbelieving. “I don’t really have any family left.” He informed him. Sulu sighed lightly, looking at Kirk. The man was something else, that was for sure. “My prior CO was Captain Gavin Pruitt.” He finally told Kirk, though whether the man was still alive and active within Starfleet, he had no idea.

“I see.” Kirk nodded slowly, sitting down turning to the computer and typing into in briefly. “I don’t really have any family either.” He said, feeling sad that Sulu had no one either.

“Sorry.” Sulu sat as well, leaning back in his seat and trying to relax.

They sat in silence for a while after that as the computer ran its search. Kirk blinked in surprise as Captain Pruitt appeared in the database, still in command of the same ship it appeared. He pulled a face at that.

“Bad news?” Sulu asked, raising an eyebrow at Kirk’s expression.

“Well…” Kirk began, shrugging. “It means we’re able to contact him after all.”

“Great…” Sulu frowned, looking at his old captain’s bio on the screen. He didn’t like the man, Pruitt had never been a pleasant man, and after the time he’d spent on that planet Sulu held no fondness for the man. “Here’s hoping this doesn’t cause you trouble..”   
Sulu sighed, looking away from the screen. “Pretty sure I’ve caused you and your crew enough problems.” Which was putting it lightly given how upset that one Ambassador had been.

“The only problem I have doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Kirk informed him, shaking his head.

“Kinda feels like I’m being let off the hook here.” Sulu said, not understanding in the least how Kirk was so chill about this.

“What do you mean?” Kirk asked, turning away from the screen.

“I spend the last year helping a rogue organization, which makes me responsible for God knows how many deaths, and you’re still willing to vouch for me. Yeah, I’m getting off the hook here.” Sulu explained, frowning slightly. “I should have told you all of that the first conversation we had. But you haven’t even mentioned that fact once.”

Kirk sighed at that, turning to face Sulu fully.

“Okay. Maybe you should have told me earlier. But after over a year going through something that most people can only imagine, you didn’t want to risk trusting anyone that quick. I get that.” Kirk leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, fists under his chin as he continued. “Let’s say you didn’t spend the last year in that….place, giving those people a fact about flying every day they kept you there. If they were so willing to just kill a man for information about Starfleet technology, who’s to say that they wouldn’t have killed us all the moment our shuttle crashed by the river? Or any officer that set foot in the capital for the meeting that was supposed to happen. Maybe they caused a lot of death, but it’s on their hands, not yours.”

Sulu was quiet for a long moment after Kirk finished speaking, mulling the man’s words over in his head. “You know. I think I actually believe you.”

“Good.” Kirk stated, raising one eyebrow. He reached over, patting Sulu on the shoulder. “So… are you ready?”

“Yeah.” Sulu said, really smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. “Guess I’m ready.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a whole lot shorter.  
> But don't complain, because this is the fastest I've ever gotten a complete story posted.

Kirk turned back to the computer, pulling up another file, this one the bio/history of Hikaru Sulu, basically the equivalent of his resume. He frowned, it listed his status as inactive.

Sulu raised a brow as he read that bit. “Two years, and it just says inactive? Guess I should be glad it isn’t dishonorably discharged, MIA, or dead.”

Kirk made a face, realizing that his must mean they really hadn’t looked into the pilot’s absence at all. A status of inactive wasn’t exactly something that would raise questions. “I don’t know if that’s good or not, to be honest.”

“Might make the transfer easier?” Sulu guessed. He’d accepted a long time ago that no one had cared enough to come find him, stood to reason no would care enough to change his status in the Federation database beyond inactive.

“That’s a few papers less, I suppose.” Jim scoffed, pulling up Pruitt’s information again and entering the communication code, placing the call.

After a few moments, the video screen flickered on, showing Pruitt in his office. He wasn’t looking at the screen, his attention on a data PADD in his hands. “Yeah?” He barked out the question gruffly, inpatient as to why this random captain was contacting him.

“Captain Pruitt, I apologize if this is a bad time. This is Captain James Kirk of the U.S.S Enterprise.”

Pruitt huffed a sigh, dropping the PADD. “Captain Kirk…” He paused, finally turning to look at the view screen and faltering as his eyes landed on Sulu. He shifted his gaze back to Kirk. “How can I help you?”

“I’m calling because we are currently in the middle of a new mission on Raegis III, and I have somehow made the acquaintance of a crew member that was previously under your command.” Kirk informed him, tone full of false politeness as he waited for that to sink in.

Pruitt’s eyes slid back to Sulu again briefly, looking decidedly less confident. “I see.” He said, tone clipped as he looked at Kirk again with narrowed eyes. “I was unaware any of my crew were in that sector.”

“So, you’re telling me that an esteemed member of your crew- a pilot, in fact- went missing from an important mission for two years, and you’ve been unaware of that the entire time?”

“A member of my crew left, a rookie out of the academy less than a year.” Pruitt retorted immediately, frowning at Kirk. “There are no reports that show any of my crew as ‘missing’.”

“We’ve had a situation that would suggest otherwise.” Kirk responded, looking over at Sulu briefly before turning his attention back to the screen. “Unless you’re suggesting that he left of his own volition to reside for two years on a non-Federation planet, in which the inhabitants don’t speak any form of Standard dialect?”

Sulu tensed slightly at that. It had hurt, being left there and just assuming no one was looking for him. It felt like a slap in the face to hear it again, confirmed by the man he used to serve under.

“That’s what the report says.” Pruitt confirmed after a brief pause.

Kirk had to struggle to keep his voice calm for Sulu’s sake. “That’s what the reports say because _you_ filed them, sir. You left one of your away team on that planet for _two entire years_ , where he was imprisoned, beaten, and forced to indirectly risk the lives of others!”

“Is there a point to this call Kirk, or are you just going to be making accusations?” Pruitt snapped.

“Oh, I do have a point.” Kirk informed him. “Mr. Sulu here has expressed to me his intentions of filing an official transfer from the Indiana to the Enterprise, so on his behalf I’d like to request your authorization as taking responsibility for what this officer has been through. Unless,” Jim smirked, able to see quite clearly how displeased Pruitt was. He didn’t look like he wanted to fess up any time soon. “You’d rather we bring it up directly with Starfleet Command, where two of my own officers, as well as the one present, would be more than happy to give testimony that would, quite frankly, lose you a lot.”

Honestly, Kirk had every intention of bringing this up with Starfleet anyway. He’d have to, because of the affect this had already had on the negotiations. Besides, there was more behind this than just Sulu being left on that world and Pruitt failing his duties. If he understood what Sulu had told the Ambassador correctly, the rogue group had gotten Sulu along with Federation weaponry. Whatever was going on went further than Captain Pruitt.

On the screen, Pruitt was silent, jaw clenched as he glowered. He didn’t have much in the way of options, and he knew it. “I’ll get the transfer orders through.”

“Good.” Kirk nodded. “I’m sure you’ll be hearing about that soon.”

He waited as Pruitt entered the appropriate orders, confirming the authorization had been sent to his connected PADD before he ended the call. “You were right.” He said, leaning back and looking at Sulu. “He is a piece of work.”

Sulu chuckled, still the slightest bit on edge after witnessing that battle of wills between Kirk and Pruitt. “yeah, but I think you were more than a match for him.” He was impressed, to say the least. He smirked, giving Kirk a cheeky grin. “Guess it’s official then, huh Captain?

Jim chuckled a bit at that.

“Welcome aboard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you enjoyed the story.  
> Want a sequel? Want a prequel? Comments are magic that will make both of those things happen quicker.   
> Until then, I'm glad you enjoyed the story.   
> Assuming you enjoyed it.


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